Wings of Stone
by Shira Lansys
Summary: Society expects certain things from you, and when you can't quite meet those expectations, your life becomes a little harder than it would otherwise have been. Lily Luna, as the first Potter in Slytherin, is going to find this out the hard way. But she'll also learn she's not the only person who isn't what they appear to be. LilyLysander, years 1-7. Creature!fic of sorts. ABANDONED
1. Chapter 1

"Love you too, Mum, I promise I'll write every week, see you in the holidays, bye!" The words tumbled from her mouth in a rush as, already, Lily began to dart away from her parents, her neck craning in an attempt to catch sight of the familiar faces of her cousins. She pulled her luggage trolley sharply as she took a step towards the steam engine that was to take her to Hogwarts.

"Woah, not so fast," her father laughed, catching her trunk before she could take more than a single step. "We're not going to see you for a whole term. Indulge us for five more minutes and give your mother and I a kiss goodbye."

"But dad," she whined. "The train-"

"Doesn't leave for another ten minutes," he interrupted her. "Come on, Lils. A quick hug. It'll take thirty seconds."

"Fine," she grumbled, releasing the handle on the cart carrying her luggage. She rushed over to her mother and reached up to wrap her arms around her neck. "James and Albus didn't have to wait, though," she complained, before quickly kissing her mother's check.

"Your brothers aren't starting their first year," her mother replied, hugging her back tightly for such a time that Lily began to squirm in her grasp. "_You_ are."

"You can let go now, Mum," Lily prompted her. Reluctantly, the red-headed woman released her daughter.

"Love you, Dad," Lily said as her father embraced her.

"Stay out of mischief," he told her with a smile. "Or, at the very least, don't get caught. We have enough trouble with James without getting letters home about you as well."

"I promise they won't catch me," she swore with a smile.

Her father laughed. "That's my girl," he said, ruffling her hair. Lily pulled a face and, as soon as his hand was back in his pocket, reached up to smooth it over.

"Can I go now?" she demanded impatiently.

"Yes," her mother laughed, "if you're so eager to be rid of us."

Lily let out a joyous whoop and grabbed her trolley once more. "I'll see you over the holidays," she said quickly as she bgan to make her way towards the train.

"Have fun at Hogwarts!" her father called out after her, but she was already lost to the crowd.

"Really, you'd think we've kept her locked in the house all these years," Ginny said to her husband.

"She's enthusiastic," Harry replied. "It's borderline insulting, but at least we don't have to worry about her getting homesick. And she reminds me of how you were when you were younger."

"I wasn't _that_ eager to leave," Ginny said, affronted.

Harry laughed. "The seventh child to go to Hogwarts, having watched your older brothers step on that train every year since you could remember? Even if I hadn't known you back then – and I did know you – I wouldn't believe for a _moment_ that you weren't exactly like Lily."

"Maybe I was a little bit," Ginny admitted. "I was slightly more reserved, though. Oh, Harry, look!" She pointed to one of the carriages, where Lily was leaning out and waving to them. "She hasn't forgotten us after all."

"Give her a week," Harry laughed, waving back. "I bet you we'll get about three letters from her in total this year."

They both watched as Lily pulled away from the window. "She'll be alright, though, won't she?" Ginny fretted.

Harry wrapped his arms around his wife. "She'll be fine," he replied. He knew how Ginny felt; watching their youngest child go off to Hogwarts was even harder than it had been watching Teddy, James and Albus. Their nest was empty, and their house was going to be extremely quiet when they got home. But he knew he didn't need to worry about Lily. She was strong and confident, more so than even James had been at that age.

"She'll be absolutely fine."

* * *

Lily carefully made her way down the train corridor, taking advantage of her small size to weave between larger students. Her parents, who she'd been waving to just moments before, were already miles from the forefront of her mind, lost in the excitement of starting Hogwarts.

All the carriages seemed to have at least one person in them, and she'd lost James and Albus soon after they'd walked through the barrier. That was okay though, because she was determined that she wasn't going to rely on them at all this year. She'd rather sit in a carriage full of seventh years that she didn't know than take the same carriage as them and be their meek little shadow.

"Lily!" a familiar voice called out. "Over here!"

The female voice had come from inside the carriage she'd just passed, and Lily doubled back to see who was calling her. She smiled when she saw the person waving her over was Rose. She was sitting with a girl that Lily didn't recognise; other than the two of them, the carriage was empty.

"Albus just went to find Scor-" Rose began to say, but then paused. "To find someone," she corrected herself quickly. "Do you want to sit with us?"

"No, I thought I'd find my own carriage," Lily replied.

Rose smiled. "I wouldn't want to sit with Albus either," she said understandingly. "However, apparently I don't have a choice in the matter."

"Have you seen Molly?" Lily asked. Molly, her cousin, was also starting Hogwarts this year. "I thought Uncle Percy would have her here early."

"I thought Uncle Percy would have her here the night before," Rose replied dryly. "She's probably already on the train. Have you looked in all the carriages?"

Lily shook her head. "I'm going to go see if I can find her."

"Have fun with that," said Rose. She paused, then added, "Oh, and if I don't see you beforehand… good luck with your sorting!"

Lily ignored the butterflies in her stomach as she smiled back. "Thanks," she said. "Hopefully, I'll see you in Gryffindor."

* * *

She found her cousin in a compartment two carriages down, sitting with two other familiar faces. "Hi Lorcan," she says, slipping in from the crowded corridor. "Hey Lysander."

Lorcan smiled widely back at her. "Hey Lily." Lysander's stony expression didn't change, although he inclined his head slightly. Lily took that as a victory.

Lorcan and Lysander were the twin sons of her parent's friends, but unlike the majority of her parent's friends, she didn't know Luna or Rolf all that well. They came around to the house a few times a year, but they spent the majority of their time travelling, so their visits were few and far between. However, she and Lorcan had always got along when their parents had shooed all the children off to play together.

There was also another girl in the carriage, one whom Lily didn't recognise. Molly must have realised this from the wary look Lily gave her, and intervened before the situation got awkward. "Lily, this is Asha. She's a first year too. Asha, this is Lily. She's my cousin."

"Hi," the girl said nervously. She had shoulder length dark hair and a fringe that was so long it partially obscured her eyes.

"It's nice to meet you," Lily said politely.

"How come you're already in your robes?" Molly asked conversationally. "I thought we didn't have to change until we were already there."

"We don't," Lily said, taking a seat next to her cousin. "But we can change whenever, and I wanted to store my trunk in the luggage compartment, so I just pulled on my robes before I came to find you."

"I wondered what had happened to your trunk," Molly said thoughtfully. "But then I realised that even you couldn't possibly have forgotten to bring your things, so I didn't ask."

Lily grinned impishly at her. "You have such a low opinion of my organisation," she said, mock-offended. At that moment the train shuddered as it began pulling out of the station. "Here we go," Lily said softly.

Molly grinned at her. "Exciting, isn't it?"

* * *

The train ride stretched out before them. Lily had never known so few hours to take so much time. Part way through the journey, Molly mentioned that the sweet trolley should be around shortly. Lily, who'd heard about the variety of sweets on it, had been looking forward to buying some.

"Oh, bother," she exclaimed. "I left my money in my trunk."

"Go and get it then," replied Molly matter-of-factly.

Lily shook her head. "There were heaps of trunks in that carriage," she said. "I'll never find it." She thought for a moment. "I know – I'll ask Albus if I can borrow some money." Although she hadn't wanted to be her brother's shadow, leeching money off him was completely different from sharing the same compartment with him.

"If the witch with the trolley comes around, I'll stall her," Molly promised. Lily thanked her and darted out into the corridor. When she glanced down the corridor but couldn't see any sight of the trolley, she slowed down. She probably had plenty of time.

She reached the carriage she thought Rose had been in and peered in through several compartment windows before she saw anyone she recognised. Her eyes fell on Rose, the girl Rose had been sitting with, and her brother Albus, who was engaged in animated conversation with… Scorpius Malfoy?

Rose noticed her peering through the window. She leapt up and pulled open the door. "Lily!" she exclaimed. "You surprised me." She ushered the girl in. "Did you find Molly alright?"

"Yeah," replied Lily, making an effort to wrench her eyes away from Malfoy, who sat there calmly as though this was an everyday occurrence. "But I need to borrow some money from Al to buy some sweets off the trolley."

"Oh, right," Albus said awkwardly. He, at least, looked a little nervous at the fact he was caught talking to a Malfoy. Lily _knew _he the blond was a Malfoy; James had pointed him out to her on the platform. Why would Albus…?

At that moment, her brother pulled out some coins and handed them to her. "Here," he said.

"Thanks." Her eyes darted back to Malfoy once more before she looked away silently.

"Where's your money, anyway?" Albus asked suspiciously.

"I left it in my trunk, which is in the luggage compartment." She grinned at him as she backed out the door. "Thanks!" Lily slid the door shut behind her and began to make her way back down the corridor.

She was stopped by the sound of the door sliding open once more behind her. "Lils, wait," Al's voice said from behind her. She turned as he slid the door shut behind him.

"I'll pay you back, alright?" she insisted. "As soon as I get my trunk."

"It's not that," said Albus, waving away her concerns. "It's about Scorpius."

"You mean Malfoy?"

"No," Albus said firmly. "I mean Scorpius."

"Why are you sitting with him?" Lily demanded. "James said his father was a Death Eater, and that he tried to kill Dad, and that he's a _Slytherin-_"

"Being a Slytherin isn't necessarily a bad thing, Lily," Albus interrupted. "James just so happens to be a bigoted moron sometimes. And Scorpius _isn't_ his father. You can't punish him for something he didn't do."

"Why are you sitting with him?" Lily asked again.

"Because he's my friend."

Lily took a moment to digest this. Finally she asked, "Does James know?"

Albus nodded. "And he's agreed not to tell Dad yet," he told her. "Do you think you could keep it to yourself too?"

Lily bit her lip. "If there's nothing wrong with being friends with a Malfoy," she challenged, "then why won't you tell Dad?"

"Because it's harder for them," Albus told her. "For the people who actually fought the war. Mum and Dad and Uncle Ron and Granddad Weasley – they all cling to how things used to be. You remember all those stories they told us of the war? About how the whole school united against Slytherin house? I came to Hogwarts expecting it to be all divided like Mum and Dad said it was in their day. And you know what? It's not. I'm friends with Scorpius. Rose has other friends in Slytherin. Even James knows people that he sort of likes in there. Half the time people don't even sit at their House table during breakfast. You'll see when you get there – it's different to how it was when Dad was at school."

"Alright, alright," Lily said when he finished. "I didn't ask for a speech." She rolled her eyes. "I won't tell Dad, if it'll make you happy."

"Thank you," Albus said sincerely. "Oh, look, I can see the witch with the trolley." Lily whirled around and, sure enough, she could see through the windows that the witch was in _her _carriage.

"I'd better go catch her," said Lily, already turning away from Albus. "Thanks again for the money."

"No problem," Albus said. "Good luck with your sorting!" But Lily was already gone.


	2. Chapter 2

When Lily slipped back into the compartment, having waylaid the witch with the trolley and brought a large assortment of sweets, she found the conversation had continued without her. "But you don't look much like each other," Asha said sceptically. "I thought twins were supposed to be… you know… similar?"

She was talking to Lorcan, and Lily felt an immediate stab of irrational dislike for the girl, although what was wrong with her Lily couldn't quite put her finger on. Maybe she just didn't like the way she immediately judged things.

To her surprise, Lorcan didn't bristle like Lily would have. Instead he smiled. "Not usually," he said. "Sometimes twins are, but not always. Lysander and I are alike in some things, but we're not identical and we like different things."

"Do you think you'll get put into the same house?" Asha asked.

Lorcan and Lysander shared a look – a fleeting look, but one Lily still caught. "Maybe," Lorcan replied evasively. "I don't even know what house I want to be in."

"I want to be in Ravenclaw," Asha said. "Although I'm not sure I'm smart enough."

"I'll probably get put in Gryffindor," Molly chipped in, her voice flat.

"You don't sound happy about that," Asha commented.

"I'm not _unhappy_ with it," Molly said. "My whole family was in Gryffindor. I'm not sure they'd like it if I was in another house. But I do sort of want to be different."

"You should see what the hat says," Lily advised her. "I bet you'd do well in Ravenclaw."

"I sort of want to be in Hufflepuff," Molly admited. "It seems really nice."

"Well, ask if you can go in there," Lily said, trying not to wrinkle her nose. She couldn't imagine going into Hufflepuff; it'd be almost as bad as going into Slytherin. But she supposed someone had to.

"What about you, Lils?" Molly asked.

"I imagine I'll be in Gryffindor," Lily loftily replied. "That's the house Mum and Dad were in, and pretty much all my uncles and aunts. Although one of my brothers and some of my cousins are in Ravenclaw."

"What about you, Lysander?" asked Asha.

Lysander just shrugged. The dark-skinned girl waited patiently for an answer, but none was forthcoming. "How long do you think it'll be before we get there?" Molly asked, peering out of the window.

Asha checked her watch. "Probably an hour or so," she said.

They continued to munch at the sweets for the remainder of the journey and speculated about what Hogwarts would be like. "My brother told me that in his first lesson of Defence Against the Dark Arts, he had to fight a troll," Lily said. "One on one."

Asha snorted. "As if. Haven't you read the text books? It's all really easy stuff, and it looks like we have to learn a lot of theory."

"I never said I believed him," Lily replied defensively. "I _know _he was winding me up. So would you, if you'd ever met him."

"I can't believe he was made a prefect," Molly said conversationally.

"Albus and I reckoned that his year must be full of morons," Lily said offhandedly. "Otherwise there's no way he would have got it."

"I heard Aunt Ginny was thrilled," Molly said.

Lily snorted. "She was even more surprised than _he _was," she said. "You should have seen her face. I swear for a moment she was considering sending an owl to Hogwarts, just to check that they'd sent the badge to the right person."

Molly laughed. "Maybe they were hoping the responsibility would rein him in," she suggested half-heartedly.

Lily snorted. "Fat chance of that," she said. "It's just inflated his ego. And now he thinks that no matter what pranks he pulls, he'll be able to get away with it."

Molly sighed. "That does sound like James," she admitted. "Rose told me that, on her second day, she asked him how to get to the library and he directed her into a teacher's office."

"Surely she knew better than to follow his instructions?" asked Lily, at the same time Asha exclaimed, "That's horrible!"

"Not really," Lily told her, annoyed by the criticism of her brother (although it wouldn't have bothered her if it had been Molly saying it. But Molly _knew _James; Asha was just being judgemental). "It's just James."

"But it's really mean," Asha said, "picking on first years like that."

"He knows her, though," Lily argued. "And he knows she can take it. He wouldn't have done it to anyone who would have been really frightened by the experience." _Unless that person was Albus_, she added silently. James loved giving their brother a hard time.

"Look, I think we're almost there!" Lorcan said, interrupting what was about to become a heated argument. He pointed out the window; sure enough, in the distance, was what appeared to be a station and something that resembled civilisation.

"Oh no, I'm not even in my robes yet," Molly fretted. "We'd better change."

Lily laughed at her worry. "Relax," she advised her cousin. "I think we've still got five minutes or so."

Everyone else in the carriage got into their robes, and Lily nabbed the seat by the window while everyone was changing so she could look out the window for her first glimpse of Hogwarts. This was the place she was going to spend the next seven years in. This would be her home.

She couldn't wait.

* * *

People jostled and shoved, and Lily tried not to be bowled over by the hundreds of older, larger students spilling onto the platform. She barely reached the shoulders of most of them, and she certainly couldn't see where she was supposed to be going. A hand grasped hers and, surprised, she looked down to see it was Molly. Glancing back, she saw Molly was holding Asha's hand, who had grabbed Lorcan.

As she watched, an older student exiting the compartment was shoved by his mates and came barrelling into their human chain. She immediately saw the logic of it when Molly and Asha's grasp on each other tightened and the boy bounced off without the four of them being separated.

Lysander was standing a little ahead of her, watching the four of them with unreadable eyes. She held out her hand. Slowly his eyes lowered to it before they returned to her face and, almost imperceptibly, he shook his head, sinking his hands further in his robes' pockets. Lily let the outstretched arm drop and tried not to be offended.

"Look," Molly said, raising her voice over all the commotion on the platform. "There's Hagrid!"

It took Lily a moment to spot him – not because he was in any way inconspicuous, but because she wasn't sure what direction she was supposed to be looking in. Molly was finding it hard to point without the use of her hands.

Only a few moments after she spotted him, she heard his booming voice call out across the station. "Firs' years, over here! Firs' years, this way!"

"Come on," Lily called to the other four, towing their chain towards the giant figure with Lysander tagging along behind them. "Hagrid'll know where we're supposed to be."

They ducked and dodged around the other people on the platform, although their chain hindered them in this. By the time they reached Hagrid, it looked like almost all the other first years were there."

"'Ello, Lily!" Hagrid said beaming down at her as they struggled up to him. "Yer lookin' well." He peered down at the rest of their group. "Is that you, Molly?" he asked. "Yer've grown taller. I barely recognised yeh."

Molly smiled. "Hi Hagrid," she greeted him. "Where are we supposed to be going?"

"Yer to follow me," he said cheerfully. "I'm ter take you lot up to the castle jus' as soon as I've got yer all." He did a quick head count, before beaming at the group of nervous-looking first years. "That's all o' us," he said jovially. "Firs' years follow me!"

And with that he turned around and began leading them all up towards the castle with everyone tagging along behind him like ducklings following their mother.

"Oh my gosh!" Lily heard Asha exclaim in a whisper behind her. "He's a giant!"

Letting go of Molly's hand – they seemed unlikely to get lost now they were following Hagrid – she turned to Asha. "He's a half-giant, actually," she said proudly.

* * *

The boats were wet. Magical and amazing, but wet. Lily splashed herself getting in, she got splashed as they floated across, and she fell in the lake when she was attempting to get out. The only consolation was that she wasn't the only one; Lorcan also walked up the stone steps to the castle sodden and dripping.

Unlike her, he took it in rather good spirits. In fact, as caught up in the excitement as he was, he barely seemed to notice the biting cold that surely must have also sunk into his bones.

Lily was more annoyed by her sudden dip; she shivered right up until they met a wizened little witch at the top of the steps who thoughtfully cast a drying spell over the pair.

"Good evening," the woman said cheerfully in what was most recognisably a Scottish accent. "I'm Professor Eluvia, Head of Hufflepuff. Welcome to Hogwarts! In a few moments I'll be leading you through into the Great Hall, where you'll take seats in preparation for the feast. But first you must be sorted into your houses, which will be one of Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, or Slytherin. For the next seven years of your magical education, your houses will essentially be your families. You will sleep with them, eat with them and attend class with them. Throughout the year you will attempt to help your house win the House Cup and, of course, cheer for them in their attempts to win the Quidditch Cup. When you get older, you might even become a player."

Her words mesmerised Lily. She came from a wizarding family and two of her brothers were already at Hogwarts, but the explanation of how the school worked had never been as exciting or _real _as it was right at that moment.

Professor Eluvia paused to survey them all. "When I lead you into the hall, you will form an orderly line behind the stool, and I will read out your names. When you hear your name, please come up the front and place the hat on your head. It'll sort you into your house."

She paused once more and then added kindly, "Don't look so frightened, dears. Almost no one mucks their sorting up." And then she turned and opened the great doors she was standing in front of, and the gaggle of first years trailed after her into the hall.

* * *

It seemed like thousands of eyes were fixed on them as they lined up before the hat. Lily watched it, waiting. The first years, mostly unsure of what was going on, tried not to shuffle impatiently.

Suddenly, a croaky but loud voice came from a rip in the hat just above the brim. Fascinated, Lily's ears strained to listen to what it was saying. Quickly the hall fell silent.

_Once I was a simple hat,  
Upon a wizard's head,  
Not left to rot in some wardrobe,  
But filled with brains instead._

_The founders four have charged me,  
With sorting all the years,  
Into the house where you'll excel,  
Into where you'll find your peers._

_For bravery and boldness,  
In Gryffindor you will go,  
And to be put in Ravenclaw,  
You will be judged on what you know,_

_Or perhaps you possess cunning,  
Like a Slytherin so sly,  
Or maybe you're a Hufflepuff,  
Because you're kind, or shy,_

_Divided though the houses are,  
These pillars make our school,  
We are four in one, and one of four,  
Our houses link us all. _

_For though the founders split apart,  
It was their friendship that created,  
Hogwarts school, this place of learning,  
For which they're celebrated._

_Never did wise Ravenclaw,  
Wish that she would part,  
From kind and lovely Hufflepuff,  
The friend closest to her heart._

_And though Godric and Salazar,  
Fought each other tooth and nail,  
When it counted, both snake and lion,  
Watched each other's tails. _

_So no matter if you're separated,  
And sorted far apart,  
You're a piece that will make up this school,  
_All _students are the heart,_

_Of this institution,  
Ancient and revered,  
Because with bonds of friendship,  
You need not be a feared. _

_So please do heed my warning,  
For I'm speaking to you all,  
You're four separate parts of one whole,  
You must unite within this school._

A smattering of applause followed the sorting song. "A bit heavy on the whole "unification" message, wasn't he?" Molly asked under the cover of the clapping.

"Teddy said he's been like that ever since the war," Lily said. "Like a dog with a bone. Every year he says something about the houses being friends."

Molly was saved from answering as the applause died down and Professor Eluvia stepped forwards holding a role of parchment.

"Anderson, Natalie," she called, loudly and clearly.

Lily watched as the girl stumbled up to the stool and pulled the hat down over her eyes. There was only a moment's pause before the hat announced, "Ravenclaw!"

Lily watched as first years she didn't recognise proceeded to traipse up and put the hat on their heads. There were two Ravenclaws, a Hufflepuff, a Gryffindor and a Slytherin, before Lily heard the name of anyone she knew.

"Finnigan, Asha."

Lily briefly thought that "Asha" wasn't a very Irish name, nor did the girl have an Irish accent, before the hat announced "Ravenclaw!"

She applauded with all the rest, butterflies doing tap-dances in her stomach. She glanced sideways at her friends; "Scamander" and "Weasley" both came after "Potter". She'd be next.

Sure enough…

"Potter, Lily."

Lily slowly walked up to the stool, looking out over the multitude of faces. She saw Dominique and James sitting together in Gryffindor, Albus in Ravenclaw… then the hat slipped over her eyes and she couldn't see anything.

"Another Potter," the hat seemed to grumble in her ears. "Your brother gave me quite a bit off bother. And your father, for that matter. I can see you're made from exactly the same mould."

_I thought I'd go in Gryffindor,_ Lily told the hat.

"Did you now," the hat said thoughtfully. "You have the courage, it seems. But there's more in here than just courage. Much, much more."

_I'm not smart enough to be in Ravenclaw, _Lily told the hat. _And I don't like study. _

"I wasn't thinking Ravenclaw," that hat told her.

_Then… Hufflepuff? _Lily asked almost hopefully. She wasn't naturally a kind person, but…

"No, my dear," the hat said. It sounded amused now. "You have the cunning right here. Maybe not the ambition quite yet, but I can see it happening now. You'd do well in Slytherin."

_But I don't want to_.

"You think there's something wrong with being a Slytherin," the hat said shrewdly. "But never fear; you'll show yourself – and everyone else – that there's nothing wrong with it."

And with that, Lily felt rather than heard the rip just above the brim open, and the hat called out…

"Slytherin!"

**A/N: A special thanks goes out to the amazing Fillisius B for help with the sorting song and many metaphorical cookies to Whimsical Catastrophe, who helped with the song AND acted as beta. Thank you!**__


	3. Chapter 3

The Sorting Hat's announcement of "Slytherin" echoed throughout the hall. It shouldn't have been possible for it to echo; the room was large but full of people and things, yet it rebounded off the walls as if the hat had shouted the word into a cave.

If she'd dreaded being placed in Slytherin, the response she received from the school did nothing to change her mind. Every other pronouncement had been greeted with a loud round of applause almost immediately, especially from the house the student had been sorted into. Those who looked particularly nervous or who had family in that house had even been met with cheering.

Lily was the first student to be met with a silence so loud it pressed in on her like it was a tangible thing. Even Slytherin House didn't applaud her.

Regardless, she stood and placed the hat back on the stool as gracefully as she could she could manage. Holding her head high, she began the walk down towards her table.

Before she took her first step, she realised that "Even Slytherin" had been an incorrect assessment. The house she'd been sorted into somehow seemed less than welcoming – as though it was sending her angry thoughts instead of the customary warm applause. All eyes were fixed on her and whispers were beginning to disturb the hall. Lily could just imagine what they're saying. '_But she's a Potter,'_ would probably be the most prominent one, and '_Why was she put in there?'_ would be another one.

'_I wish I knew!' _she wanted to exclaim tearfully to them. She hadn't wanted to be placed there; she hadn't wanted everyone staring at her like she was a freak. She just wanted to be _normal_.

'_Well, maybe not normal,' _a small voice in her head whispered. It sounded suspiciously similar to that of the Sorting Hat. Had she ever really wanted to be normal, and the same as her cousins and siblings and parents?

'_I hadn't wanted to be _this _different,' _she told the voice furiously.

Her thought process might have been extensive, but in reality it had occurred over a very short amount of time. She'd barely taken a step when she was distracted from her morose and self-pitying thoughts by several, lone echoing bursts of applause. They were magnified a thousand times by the silence of the room and Lily looked up towards the noise. At the Slytherin table, a single blond boy was clapping.

'_Malfoy?' _she thought to herself. Why was _Malfoy_ clapping for her?

But as she continued, she heard clapping coming from behind her where she couldn't see who it was. And further as she took another step, several more people joined in the applause, and some more, until enough people were clapping for the ringing silence to be drowned out. It wasn't the whole hall, by any means, and the noise was still much quieter than it had been for the rest of the students, but it gave her the confidence to take those extra steps leading her closer to the table. To her new house.

There were no free spaces down the end, and desperately she looked up and down the benches for spaces to sit. There was room for people to squeeze closer together, but none of them showed any inclination to do so. Her eyes roamed the table but she couldn't see a single free spot, not even down the very end.

Maybe it was because Albus had said he was his friend, or maybe it was because he'd been the first to clap for her, but her eyes fell on a head of platinum-blonde hair. He had no free spaces beside him, but he beckoned for her to come to him. She hesitated – he was a _Malfoy_, but she might as well go that way anyway. She walked in his direction, and saw him taking heatedly with a girl next to him. As she drew closer, the girl moved to the side, and Malfoy scooted in the other direction to make room for her to sit down.

She took the seat gratefully, murmuring a thank-you to the pair of them. The applause was still going; it had started late, and it finished late as well. As Lily looked over to the Gryffindor table, she saw Dominique nudge James hard enough to make him wince. While his jaw still hung open in the way she thought only characters in comic books did, he belatedly – and half-heartedly – started clapping just as the applause began to die.

The people seated around her sent her glances of barely-concealed curiosity as the other first-years were sorted. She tried to ignore them, although it was difficult knowing that every eye in the hall was, at some point during the remainder of the sorting, watching her and judging what they saw. She wanted to hide under the table just to stop everyone from looking, or at the very least retreat into herself where other people's opinions couldn't bother her, but they weren't options she could feasibly consider. Lorcan was being sorted now, and that was something she felt she needed to watch.

She couldn't help the wild hope that he'd be placed in Slytherin. She knew it was unlikely, and not very fair for him, but she secretly wished it all the same. She hated the idea that she'd be alone in this scary, strange house where everyone hated her for her surname. Albus had said that things had changed since their parent's time and that everyone was much more accepting – but if her sorting had shown her anything it was that he was wrong about that.

To her disappointment, it called out Gryffindor almost immediately. She applauded lightly like the rest of the house, but her eyes didn't follow him as he found his seat. Lysander was up next.

His sorting took much longer. Lily watched as the hat was placed on his head, partly expecting him to be announced at once like Lorcan was.

It was a stupid expectation, she'd reprimand herself later. Hadn't she been thinking just earlier that day that the two twins were more different than the sun and the moon? Lysander sat there for a good half-minute as the murmurs began to stir like a breeze around him. Malfoy's friend leaned over her to talk to the boy on her other side. "A hat-stall, do you think?" she asked him.

He shook his head. "Hasn't even been a minute," he said. "You always leap to conclusion. Life is never as exciting as you think it'll be."

She poked her tongue at him playfully and returned to watching the sorting. Lily's curiosity was burning; what was a hat-stall? But she was too shy to ask. Instead she refocused her gaze on Lysander, sitting at the front of the hall.

Despite Malfoy's assurances that it would be over soon, it was another two minutes before the rip in the hat's brim opened once more and called out "Hufflepuff!"

Lily had to say she was surprised; she didn't know Lysander very well (he kept to himself wherever possible) but he hadn't struck her as someone who possessed Hufflepuff-like qualities, nor as someone who'd particularly desire to go into that house over another one. She didn't have too much time to ponder it, though. Only "Vancoon, Freeman," was called out before it was Molly walking nervously up those steps.

She knew there was no chance that her cousin would end up in Slytherin, and that she really wanted to go in Hufflepuff. Lily made a point to consciously hope that her cousin got the house she wanted. But deep down she didn't want to be alone, and wished more than anything that the hat would announce "Slytherin."

It didn't. Molly took the several short steps to the Hufflepuff table where a seat was waiting for her, just like she'd wanted. She looked happy, despite the fact she was sitting on her own; Lysander was down the other end with no free seats around him. Whether this was by design or coincidence, Lily couldn't tell.

The last person was sorted quickly; the hat shouted their house almost instantly and chatter began to break out across the hall. It grew in volume but, before it could peak and reach deafening, a woman stood up who Lily recognised as Professor Bones. Silence fell immediately.

Lily was expecting a grand speech of some length, but the tall woman simply said, "Let the feast commence," opened her arms and, suddenly, the plates were piled high with food and the tables sunk a good centimetre under the weight

The silence broke at once, even before Professor Bones had sat down. Hands immediately reached for spoons to dish up steaming piles of delicious food and everyone began to speak at once. Lily waited until she saw a dish no one was touching and served herself up some potatoes. She wasn't really that hungry.

"So you're Albus's little sister," Malfoy said thoughtfully, grabbing some roast beef. She looked up to meet his clear grey eyes that were assessing her shrewdly.

"Yes," she said defensively. "What of it?"

"Nothing," Malfoy said. "Just… you don't look much like him."

Lily pulled a face. "I know," she said despite herself. "He and James look more like our dad and I look more like our mum."

He didn't say anything to that, and Lily started to feel a little uncomfortable. She was saved, strangely enough, by the girl sitting on her other side.

"I'm Heather," she said to Lily, "seeing as Scorpius is too ungentlemanly to introduce us."

"Oh," Lily said. "I'm Lily. Lily Potter."

The corner of Heather's mouth twitched up in a slight smirk. "Yeah, I know," she said dryly.

That made Lily feel stupid; of course she knew who Lily was. "What year are you in?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

"Third year," Heather said. "Like Scorpius. But I came in halfway through last year; I moved here from France. It's a bit different, I can tell you."

"You don't have an accent," Lily said.

"No, I hadn't been there long enough. We'd moved specifically so that I could be schooled there, but I didn't like it. My French is only passable, and I was falling behind because I couldn't always understand what the teachers were saying."

Lily let her chatter wash over her and tried to hide her confusion. Heather seemed perfectly friendly, but Lily could have sworn that when she'd been searching for a seat, Heather had been arguing with Scorpius about something. Lily had assumed the other girl hadn't wanted Lily to sit with them. Had she been wrong?

She was distracted from her thoughts – and her conversation with Heather – but the clanging of metal coming from in front of her. To her surprise, Scorpius was spooning large helpings of several different dishes onto her plate. He saw her looking at him and smiled. "Eat up," he advised her. "Or you'll be hungry later. Besides, you won't see a feast like this again until Halloween."

"I'm not feeling that hungry," Lily said. She actually felt a bit ill. She was going to have to write home later that night; what was she going to say? "Dear Mum and Dad, Hogwarts is great. I got placed in Slytherin today. Give Arnold the Fifth my love. From Lily."

Somehow she didn't think it'd matter how she wrote it. The news was the same no matter the wording.

She could always just not write to them. She was sure Albus or James would write home soon enough and fill them in on her sorting. Or, failing that, one of her numerous cousins would tell their parents, who'd pass it along to hers.

'_Yeah, and then I'll get a Howler at breakfast,' _she thought morosely. _'Great idea.'_

"Go on," Scorpius encouraged her. "At least have some corned beef. It's delicious."

Obediently she took a bite. Surprisingly, it was quite nice. Scorpius smiled at her, and she wondered idly when she'd stopped thinking of him as Malfoy. "It's not all bad, you know," he said to her, "being in Slytherin. For one, our house ghost is the best in the school."

"He's the Bloody Baron, right?" Lily asked.

Scorpius nodded. "The only one who can control Peeves," he said.

Lily had heard all about Peeves – James had a lot to say about the poltergeist. "Still," Lily said, "it's not exactly a reason to join a House, is it? Just because they have a good ghost?"

Scorpius chuckled. "See what you think after you've been here a few weeks," he advised her. "It may surprise you."

* * *

By the time the plates were cleared of the last course and Professor Bones stood up to address the hall, everyone – including the teachers – was looking uncomfortably full. Even Lily had begun eating with a little more gusto once the desserts had shown up; she had an extraordinary fondness for apple pie and custard.

"Welcome to you all," Professor Bones said loudly, killing the last small buzzes of talk. "For our first years, I hope you arrive here full of enthusiasm for learning, and for our older students, I hope you're well rested and ready to begin another year.

"First of all, I'd like to inform you of a slight change in staffing this year. Professor McKinnon has handed in his retirement notice and replacing him as the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher will be Professor Vanity." The Headmistress gestured to her left and a woman seated next to the hulking Hagrid stood up to a round of applause. She appeared about forty or so, with long blond hair tied in a bun. The hairstyle should have looked severe, but her face was kind and she smiled widely as she sat back down.

"I'm sure you'll all make her feel very welcome," Professor Bones said, although it sounded more like a warning than an assurance. "Mr Filch would ask me to remind you to read the list of two thousand, three hundred and fifty two banned objects stapled to his door. This list is also posted in your common rooms. Please read it when you have a moment.

"And with that, I'll wish you all goodnight. Prefects, please lead the first years to their dormitories. And if anyone tries to purposefully lose their groups this year, they will be answering directly to me."

She sat down, and immediately the hall was filled with the sound of scraping cheers and talking students. Lily turned to Scorpius. "Where are the Slytherin Prefects?" she asked.

Scorpius shook his head. "You don't want to follow them," he said. "That comment was directed at them. Losing the students is a form of hazing that this house does every year. Come with us; we'll show you where to go."

"Oh yeah," Lily muttered under her breath as Scorpius began to stand. "This sounds like a great house."

Scorpius and Heather were pushing themselves away from the table just as two fifth-years down the other end of the Slytherin table stood up and called for the first years to follow them. Lily spared them a quick glance before hastening after Heather and Scorpius, who'd already started walking.

She hadn't even reached the end of the table before someone grabbed her arm. The girl had dark hair and even darker eyes; Lily recognised her as a first year who'd been sorted before her, although she couldn't remember her name. "Aren't you a first year?" the girl asked her. "We're supposed to be going that way." She pointed at the Prefects who now had a large flock of first years gathered around them.

"You don't want to follow them," Lily said to her. Then, on the spur of the moment, she added, "Come with me."

"Where are you going?" she asked suspiciously. "We're supposed to be going up to the common room."

"We will be," Lily assured her. "But I don't think that's where the Prefects are taking us."

"How do you know?"

"Someone warned me against them," Lily said impatiently. "Are you coming or not?" She could see out of the corner of her eye that Scorpius and Heather were waiting for her.

The girl bit her lip before turning back to Lily. "Okay," she said. "Lead the way."

* * *

**Beta: The amazing Whimsical Catastrophe!**


End file.
